


Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Within

by ShadowAndLight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Rights, And he's pan, Ben Solo/Jacen Solo Rights, But Han and Leia would not name their kid Ben like come on she never even met him, Disney is full of cowards, ExpandedUniverseWasThere!!!, F/F, F/M, Finn/Poe Is Canon, Han and Leia Rights, Jacen Solo is Ben Solo, Lando exists too, Luke and Mara Rights, M/M, Mara Jade Rights, Multi, NameChange!BenToJacen, Of Course there's porn, Rey is Bisexual, Rights as in civil rights I own nothing, Sequel Trilogy with elements from the films and EU, Sorry minors, Weekly(ish) Updates, duh - Freeform, lets be real
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:07:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22515952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowAndLight/pseuds/ShadowAndLight
Summary: *Cue The Music Johnny Boi*Luke Skywalker has vanished.In his absence, the sinisterFIRST ORDER has risenfrom the ashes of the Empireand will not rest until Skywalker and Solo Clan,The last of the Jedi,has been destroyed.With the support of the REPUBLIC,Generals Han and Leia Organa-Solo leads a brave RESISTANCE............................................................
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Jacen Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Jaina Solo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 5





	1. Opening Crawl

Luke Skywalker has vanished.  
In his absence, the sinister  
FIRST ORDER has risen  
from the ashes of the Empire  
and will not rest until the Skywalker and Solo Clans,  
the last of the Jedi,  
has been destroyed.

With the support of the REPUBLIC,  
Generals Leia and Han Organa  
lead a brave RESISTANCE.  
The General's only hope lie  
In find the missing Jedi Master  
So he can help in restoring peace and  
justice to the galaxy.

Leia has sent her most daring  
pilot on a secret mission  
to Jakku, where an old ally  
has discovered a clue to  
Luke’s whereabouts … .


	2. I. That Night In Jakku

Under the dark desert sky a fallen AT-AT sits between dunes and the stars. As the sands cool under the twin moons she lays atop the cold metal of the place she calls home, here she can see the vast sea of sand and anyone who might approach. It is not usual for her to stay up so late on watch, but she has been on edge for the past couple of days. Nighttime may be Rey’s favorite time of the day but she knows that it is not without its dangers.  
In the pit of her stomach and up to her chest a mighty fist clenches itself, she jumps when the breeze gives her “hut” a creek and struggles to calm her racing heart. It has been so long since she felt her nerves like this, but the nightmares frequency make it difficult for her mind to sleep and distrusting of her environment.   
The childhood fear of someone much bigger breaking into her home for whatever scraps they can find has persisted well into her young twenty-one years. Even now she clutches her rag doll close to her, eyeing the land under the safety of her rebel helmet. On nights like this she likes to imagine her home during its time in combat. The old twins, Eunice and Mariana, that live north of Niima Outpost used to tell her stories of the fear the Empire had struck into the universe. That her small home in its full height towered over any alien and was a great destructor of rebel bases.  
She doesn’t have to wonder what happened to it’s pilots, when she first made shelter here not long after her abandonment she would dream of officers in dark grey and troopers with shiny white plastic shells for armor. From their window she could make out B-Wings and X-Wings flying through the sky around them with the high shrill of TIE fighters cutting the air. She watched the AT-AT go down from a B-Wings jumper cable.   
If she focuses hard enough she can still hear the soldiers screams as the flames swallowed their bodies and burned their souls.  
Rey shivers but she is not cold. It will be a long night.

Three hours from the lone girl’s location a black and orange X-Wing lands near a small village, a white and orange BB unit chirps at its exiting pilot. Poe watches the droid roll up by his side as he makes his way into the small village. It is late in the night, a content sleepiness lays heavy in the villagers as they laugh and clean up from their dinner. Poe tries to ease the tension in his shoulder, rolling them back and running a hand through greasy hair with the desert breeze.   
He finds the village elder sitting by the fire and listens to a woman who’s white glows under the moons and firelight. She speaks with her hands, recalling tales of the Jedi from the Republic before the time of the Empire, before the First Order. Children of teen hood and younger listen with sleepy smiles, toddlers curled in the laps of older siblings that stay warm from the small creatures heat and campfire.. There is a fondness and loving smile in the elder as he watches her, Poe is thankful the older man notices him before he had to approach such a scene.  
The elder stands from his boulder and kisses the woman’s hair, lingering in his kiss as he smooths a hand reverently through her curls before finally walking to Poe. The woman smile is wide, a soft giggle lacing in her words now.  
Poe’s stomach and heart curls, an old longing dragging itself up again. He beats it down with a smile and handshake, “Poe Dameron.”  
The old man smiles and grasps Poe’s hand in a firm grip, “Lor San Tekka, welcome to our humble village Poe. I take it you’re the one I’ve been told by old friends would be visiting?” The pair starts to the bigger hut of the village, Lor giving small waves or nods to whoever they pass.   
“Yes sir,” Poe steps up to pull back the long reeds used to cover the opening of Lor’s home. The elder mutters a thanks and immediately moves to sit in the chair to the right, Poe choosing the one directly next to that, settling into his seat and basking in the warmth of the fire that illuminates Lor’s home. Towards the back Poe can make out a window covered in sheer blankets showing the outside of the village. The night sky with the stars and binary moons, a large bed lays underneath.  
Poe can hear birds singing soft coos out in the deserts and he realizes now how exhausted from the trip he is as he relaxes into his seat. He tells BB-8 to take watch outside, make sure that no one tries to listen in on their conversation or bothers the townspeople. He watches the white and orange droid chirp in affirmation, doing a small bob before rolling away. Poe smiles as his child goes, he loves that droid.  
“I hope that Leia and Han have been doing well,” Lor San Tekka says as he pulls out a small box that Poe only now notices was sitting on the floor between them. He opens the lid carefully, the wood creaking to reveal a small brown satchel. The old man takes it out and sets the box down.   
“They are,” Poe clears his throat and holds out his hand, “they send their love. General Solo wished for me to pass on his apologies for not being able to make it.”  
The elder waves his hand as if to brush the words out of the air, “tell Han that it is quite alright, as an old man myself I understand how hard the travel can be. Being the general of the Resistance makes it less easier on his bones I imagine.”  
“He would probably shoot you if he heard you say old in any reference to him,” Poe does not share that Han can travel just fine, and is actually in the space nearby looking for his lost beloved the Millenium Falcon with Chewbacca. He laughs instead as Lor lays the satchel into his hand and curls his hand into it. “If you don’t mind me asking though, Leia was curious as to where you had gotten-” Poe gestures to his hand “this.”  
Lor’s smile drops, lips thinning to a hard line and looks around warily, he turns back to Poe and leans in closer to the pilot. “I am not surprised that Leia was not aware but… she has been staying here with us.” The old man swallows in slight fear but Poe can tell he still has a deep respect for whoever he is referring to, “When my people gather for dinner it is my job to relay whatever I hear from the outside to them. So when she heard of the First Order growing stronger and the New Republic all the more neutral she came to me. Said it was her last gift from Luke in case she ever wished to find him.”  
“She?”  
“Mara Jade Skywalker,” Lor deadpans.  
Poe tenses for a second, the name all too familiar. Right, he had heard that the estranged wife of Luke Skywalker tended to migrate between Churches of the Force and their villages. He tries to recall all of the townspeople he has seen so far but there is no scarlet hair in any of the images. If what Lor says is true, and there is no reason for him not to be, Poe needs to tell Han and Leia immediately.   
Lor looks down, and Poe feels the surge of sadness that comes whenever he speaks to someone from the time of the Empire. They all hold themselves defiant and strong posture, but a powerful sadness always present behind their eyes whenever they see or hear of the First Order. It is this conveyance of body language that first struck his core as a child, seeing his mother in the back of his mind flying away on her X-Wing one las  
Now, Lor San Tekka stares Poe in the eye, an understanding clear between them. “This will begin to make them. “ I've traveled too far, and seen too much, to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force.”  
Poe holds the satchel up, the key to change the tide in favor of the Resistance, “

In the sky three shuttles and an upsilon-class command ship barrel to the village below, a teen boy and a small girl making their way home were the first to see the ships in the moonlight. The boy gives a frightened shout, scooping the girl up in the arms and screaming for everyone to wake up. BB-8 races towards Poe and Lor, the First Order is coming.

Poe is shaking Lor’s hand goodbye, standing and about to call back BB-8, when they hear the first couple of shouts. “You must leave,” Lor starts to shove Poe out of the hut, the two unprepared for the hell that is about to befall upon the village. Poe almost trips on his droid on the way out, the two bolting to the X-Wing in grim silence. To his left he can see the shuttles that have already landed, the ominous sound of boots running towards the village to begin their comb through the innocents.   
Except perhaps not so innocent he thinks when he passes by adults and teens alike passing around blasters in a manner obviously practice as Poe hears the ships make land. The bells toll. He shouts at BB-8 to go faster as the first shots are fired. He can see the borrowed X-Wing as he pushes his legs faster. He’s in the cockpit by the time he hears the troopers coming closer. He’s cursing for the blasted ship to start faster when he feels blasters hit the back. He was parked too close.  
BB-8 chirps his warning.  
“Yeah, yeah I see them,” Poe thanks the force that the canons still worked at least as he fires upon the troops. Grabbing his blaster (ASK SIMON WHAT KIND IT IS) and jumping out of the X-Wing.  
He knows in his heart the damage done to the ship but that does nothing to impede the ache of disappointment. He turns back to the village, unease expanding in his throat as he realises that incinerator stormtroopers were already working on their homes. In the far distance, through the flames, he sees the outline of Lor San Tekka making his way to the troopers.   
Poe accepts that he is out of time, and empties out the satchel before the kneeling in front of his droid. “You take this.” He tries to bite back the regret, “It’s safer with you than it is with me.You get as far away from here as you can, do you hear me?”  
BB-8 is shifting side to side in protest but beeps once in affirmation. Poe nods before turning around and making way to a slope between him and the First Order. He slides onto his belly, taking aim carefully before shooting down two troopers. The odds do not look good for them, villagers already being rounded up and separated by adults and teenagers in the center and far from the children and younger. Poe does not like the way any of it looks, choosing to stay low and debating on when would be his best chance to jump in. He couldn’t very well let these people die, especially since he is sure the First Order is here for him. In the rounded up adults Poe makes out short curls peeking out from a dark hood. At first he didn't understand why the figure had caught his attention so, when in the firelight bright scarlet shows.   
Mara Jade Skywalker.  
He cannot make out her face but can see the tension in her shoulders, pushing teens with the rest of the adults in the center and out of harm’s way. Her hands remain hidden beneath her cloak and Poe tries to see if maybe a lightsaber would be there but is stopped short when a stormtrooper steps into his line of vision.   
He may choke on his own racing heart now as another shuttle makes a landing, a upsilon-class command shuttle that Poe immediately recognizes from many intel meetings with the Resistance. Poe can barely contain curses and runs a shaky hand through his hair, what the fuck are we supposed to do with Kylo Ren here?  
He eyes the distance between himself and the closet stormtrooper, a lucky seventy-five feet he’d reckon. Still, even if he did try to take one of their own shuttles, he’s not sure how far he would get with the blasted force sensitive in the field. Even now, as the large man strides to his troops Poe can make out the air vibrating with power around him. Walking slightly to his right and behind is a chrome trooper. Poe grunts softly, Captain Phasma- the famous baby and child snatcher. Wonderful.   
He resigns to taking out a few troopers further from Ren to give some villagers a running chance. Many even catch Phasma off guard and rid the galaxy of that parasite. Poe switches the safety off, preparing to take the shot when something quite literally tugs his brains attention back to Mara Jade.   
She is shaking her head softly, hand resting at her belt under the cloak. Don’t take the shot yet, wait for my signal rebel.   
Poe relaxes, and nods. Trying to send his own variation of okay but not quite sure if she felt it. Either way thank the Force for the Jedi. Perhaps if they make it out alive Mara will go back with Poe and talk to General Organa and Han Solo.   
Paying attention back to the spectacle that is the First Order, Poe holds down a panicked sound seeing Kylo Ren towering in front of Lor San Tekka. The older man stares at the sith apprentice unimpressed and says nothing.   
“Look how old you’ve become,” Poe had to strain himself to hear it. What a stupid helmet, bastard didn’t even need it.  
“Something far worse has happened to you,” Lor shifts foot to foot, Mara is still as a statue. The only sound in the night air now is homes burning, children sniffling and teenagers doing their best to soothe crying babies. On the side Poe notices a stormtrooper with a bloody hand print marked on the face of his helmet.   
The pilot grimaces and nearly misses Kylo Ren’s impatient grunt, “You know what I’ve come for.”  
If Poe’s stomach wasn’t a knot before it has pulled itself tighter, the map.   
“I know where you’ve come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren,” the elder is defiant, proud before the enemy. The hand that shook Tekka’s flexes, the tension from the sith has thickened the air more. While Poe fears for Lor’s life he can’t help but admire his steel, even now villagers murmur softly. Words like “Jacen” and “Jedi killer” stand out the most.  
“The map to Skywalker,” Kylo Ren steps closer to Tekka, “we know you’ve found it and now you are going to give it to the First Order.” The warning is clear in the statement but Tekka does not flinch.   
Poe shoots a hard look towards Mara, what are you waiting for?  
His anger.  
“The First Order rose from the dark side, you did not,” Poe wants to groan at the old man to stop and is helpless watching Kylo Ren calmly roll his shoulders back.   
“I’ll show you the dark side.”  
“You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family.”  
You old fool, rebel, be prepared to shoot the troops.  
Kylo Ren cocks his head to the side lazily, “you’re so right.” Red ignites from his lighter, the cross guards extending as he raises above his head. As he swings the saber down a magenta halts it’s path. Mara has thrown off her cloak, dark brown pants and leather jacket her only gear as she stares down Kylo Ren with seething hatred.  
Poe starts opening fire on the first four troops in front of him, not hearing Mara’s and Kylo’s exchanges as their fierce battle stars and Tekka flees. Phasma’s orders to open fire on the villagers is shrill as it pierces the air, blaster fires following soon after. Poe tries to steel himself as he sprints towards the chaos and takes down another stormtrooper. Adults are screaming, caught in the middle of it all and falling as they take the brunt of the fire.   
Mara has pushed Kylo Ren far out towards the outskirts of the villager, cutting down a stormtrooper and throwing Phasma out of her way as she sprints towards the sith. Poe shudders, he did not want to be on the end of that anger. He turns back to the fight, only having enough time to notice the younger one fleeing the village and into the desert as their parents are slaughtered in their desperate quest to hold the First Orders attention.   
Poe misses the stormtroopers that have come up from behind him to knock him out. The last thing he processes is being dragged into the command shuttle. It’s cold air and floor sharp on his body dampened by sweat before he blacks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! 
> 
> I can't believe I posted this early, you have no idea how stressed I have been thinking that I was not going to be able to get this in by Sunday (and it's fucking Saturday!!!).  
> So for those of you who are unfamiliar Mara Jade is a character from the Expanded Universe that married Luke Skywalker and they had one son together named Ben. This is why I changed Ben Solo's name to Jacen Solo. Mara and Luke in this fic are separated right now after an ugly dispute so Mara drifts from planet to planet and Luke is hiding away.   
> I always wished the movies had really shown that Poe knew the Solo's before everything went down because there is just such a high chance of it that I had to put it in here. I'll show where the connection lies (hint- his parents) later in the story but for now this is what we have. 
> 
> Also, if you can tell that I do not have a beta I apologize. Tried to do the editing the best of my ability, so I am sorry if it is not perfect. 
> 
> See y'all next Sunday!!!


	3. Authors Note

Hey y'all

So I'm going to try to keep this short. When I had first started this story it was with the intentions of committing to it fully and giving y'all something to love and enjoy with me. Obviously, this isn't happening so I thought I would take the time to explain myself. For the last two years I have been trying my best to attend to my mental health and care for myself, as anyone with depression and anxiety know this is difficult. However, I learned recently after a lot of research and much self-reflection that I may have adult ADHD, it would certainly explain why I am always losing things or struggle so much with focusing on any sort of task that holds no immediate interest to me. Then I started a medication given to me by my physician for the depression, and upon my second visit while giving her the run down of how I've been feeling and reacting to it she was visibly alarmed. She told me I was describing symptoms of bipolar disorder, which would explain why I get so pumped up and feel on top of the world with writing or life and then hit a hard depressive episode that lasts god knows how long. Sadly, I cannot afford therapy being a US citizen without health insurance so I don't know to the full extent of what's wrong with me which has been a great source of stress.

With all of this said, I am sincerely sorry to anyone who was looking forward to this story. I don't have the energy to commit to it when there is so much going on with my health that makes writing so overwhelming sometimes (no matter how much I wish to or love being a writer). If anyone would like to pick it up and hear what direction I had wished to move it in then send me a message. I do enjoy editing too, so I can also help with that at least (if you so choose). I just know that I cannot handle this after months of trying to get back into it. I love Star Wars and I had loved the idea of doing this story for y'all but... I just can't do it. 

Thank you,  
ShadowAndLight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello One and All!!!
> 
> You can call me Fate or Chaos (or Kat) and I like to think of myself of the entity that you hope will ping your email notification at the two in the morning when you find yourself wanting of a good fic. Let me start out with: I love the sequel trilogy!!! And hate it! You can read the rant on my profile (not full, too many characters for the full rant) but basically this Archive/Fanfiction is going to be my version of what I had wanted from Disney. I watched the movies fully understanding that Disney basically dropped the Expanded Universe, save for some things like Thrawn, and for some reason focused too much on building (poorly) upon a sandbox that was already molded into a grand Castle for them. Originally I wasn't going to go through with this, considering I am twenty-one years old and still trying to get my life together, but after weeks of witnessing my boyfriend moan over his disappointment of the sequels and what Disney has done to his precious expanded universe I decided justice was due.
> 
> So, here it is. I invite you to read it if you love the sequels, hate the sequel/prequels/originals and most importantly if you love Star Wars. I promise I won't delve too deep into the EU for those of you who never picked it up so you won't be too confused. To be fair to y'all I haven't really delved into it either and my partner is the one who tells me what I need to know and I decide from there what I want to toss in. The purpose of this fic is to write a version of the sequels that people and myself can really enjoy while still respecting the original version for what it was. I hope to update on a weekly basis but may be late 1-2 days if life gets a little rough. See you soon!!


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